1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an adapter, and more particularly to an adapter for connecting a Personal Computer (PC) and a portable device (such as a mobile phone).
2. Description of Related Art
With recent technological improvements, portable devices, such as mobile phones, have gained more functions, and can now exchange data with a PC by using an adapter. The portable device has a port for connecting to the adapter, and the port has a plurality of contacts disposed therein. The contacts include power contacts and data contacts. Adapters currently on the market include power adapters and data adapters which each have a plug for connecting to a portable device, but the plugs differ in the location and number of the contacts used in the plug. Power adapters are used to charge the portable device; data adapters are used to exchange the data with a PC. However, if a portable device which is low in power is exchanging data with a PC using a data adapter, data exchange may stop and the portable device may first need to be recharged using a power adapter. Switching between the power adapter and data adapter is inconvenient.
Universal Serial Bus (USB) interfaces are widely used on PCs today, so many data adapters have a standard USB plug for connecting to a standard USB port on the PC. Standard USB ports also include power terminals. An improved adapter providing power and data through a USB interface between a portable device and a PC is desired so that the PC can transmit power to the portable device while the portable device and the PC exchange data.
A main object of the present invention is to provide an adapter for exchanging data and transmitting power between a portable device and a PC at the same time.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an adapter having a simple configuration which is easy to use.
To fulfill the above-mentioned objects, an adapter according to the present invention comprises a first connector electrically connecting to a PC, a second connector electrically connecting to a portable device, and a cable electrically connecting the two connectors. A power converting circuit and a data transmitting circuit are disposed on a printed circuit board (PCB) housed in the second connector. The power from the PC passes through the first connector, then through the power converting circuit of the second connector to the portable device. The data is exchanged between the PC and the portable device via the adapter at the same time that the PC is recharging the portable device.
Since the adapter has both a power converting circuit and a data transmitting circuit, it enables the portable device to exchange data with the PC while being charged by the PC. The adapter both has a simple configuration and is easy to use.